| United Kingdom Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero | |
|---|---|
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| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | |
| Style | Energy Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth) |
| Type | Minister of the Crown |
| Status | Secretary of State |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Seat | Westminster |
| Nominator | The Prime Minister |
| Appointer | The Monarch (on the advice of thePrime Minister) |
| Term length | At His Majesty's Pleasure |
| Formation | 8 January 1974 |
| First holder | Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington (as Secretary of State for Energy) |
| Salary | £159,038 per annum(2022)[1] (including £86,584MP salary)[2] |
| Website | Official website |
TheSecretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero is aSecretary of State in theGovernment of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for theDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero. The incumbent is a member of theCabinet of the United Kingdom.[3]
The incumbent Secretary of State isEd Miliband of the Labour Party.[4]
Between 1974 and 1992, the post was known asSecretary of State for Energy.
Under theConservative government ofSir John Major in 1992 theDepartment of Energy was merged into theDepartment of Trade and Industry.
The position ofSecretary of State for Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 when then-Prime MinisterGordon Brown reshuffled hisCabinet. Immediately prior to the creation of the new department,energy policy was the responsibility of theDepartment for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
Former Labour leaderEd Miliband was the inaugural secretary of state at DECC. After Labour lost the 2010 general election and theCameron–Clegg coalition was formed,Chris Huhne was appointed as his successor. On 3 February 2012, Huhne resigned from the post after it was announced that he would beprosecuted for perverting the course of justice, in relation to accusations that he passed on speeding penalties to his ex-wife to avoid losing his own licence. The post was taken over byEd Davey on the same day, and served until the Liberal Democrats left government, and Davey lost his seat, in 2015.[5]
Amber Rudd was the final secretary of state at DECC, until she becameHome Secretary. The post was formed into the newDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy by new prime ministerTheresa May in July 2016.
On 7 February 2023, agovernment reshuffle meant that theDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was split up into separate departments.[6][7] TheDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero took on the energy portfolio and policy functions from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.[7]
Grant Shapps was appointed the first Secretary of State for the department, having previously been the last holder of the office ofSecretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2022 to 2023.[8] The department was tasked by the Prime Minister,Rishi Sunak, with "securing our long-term energy supply, bringing down bills and halving inflation".[7]
Colour key (for political parties):
Conservative Labour
| Secretary of State | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington | 8 January 1974 | 4 March 1974 | Conservative | Edward Heath | ||||
| Eric Varley | 5 March 1974 | 10 June 1975 | Labour | Harold Wilson | ||||
| Tony Benn | 10 June 1975 | 4 May 1979 | Labour | |||||
| James Callaghan | ||||||||
| David Howell | 5 May 1979 | 14 September 1981 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher | ||||
| Nigel Lawson | 14 September 1981 | 11 June 1983 | Conservative | |||||
| Peter Walker | 11 June 1983 | 13 June 1987 | Conservative | |||||
| Cecil Parkinson | 13 June 1987 | 24 July 1989 | Conservative | |||||
| John Wakeham | 24 July 1989 | 11 April 1992 | Conservative | |||||
| John Major | ||||||||
| Department abolished 1992. Functions transferred to theDepartment of Trade and Industry. | ||||||||
Colour key (for political parties):
Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative
| Secretary of State | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Miliband |  | 3 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 | Labour | Gordon Brown | |||
| Chris Huhne | .jpg) | 12 May 2010 | 3 February 2012 | Liberal Democrats | David Cameron (Coalition) | |||
| Ed Davey |  | 3 February 2012 | 8 May 2015 | Liberal Democrats | ||||
| Amber Rudd |  | 11 May 2015 | 14 July 2016 | Conservative | David Cameron (II) | |||
| Department abolished 2016, merged intoDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. | ||||||||
Colour key (for political parties):
Conservative Labour
| Secretary of State | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Grant Shapps MP forWelwyn Hatfield | 7 February 2023 | 31 August 2023 | Conservative | Sunak | ||
.jpg) | Claire Coutinho MP forEast Surrey | 31 August 2023 | 5 July 2024 | ||||
_2.jpg) | Ed Miliband MP forDoncaster North | 5 July 2024 | Incumbent | Labour | Starmer | ||
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